Marks on My Skin (Love & Ink #1) (22 page)

My eyes widened. I tried to say something, but what could I say to that? He’d been in love with me? I tried to recall a time that he might have attempted to make his feelings known, tried to get closer, but no…he hadn’t. I was sometimes aloof, but no. I would have noticed, wouldn’t I?

“Liam, you never said anything. You never talked to me about it. How was I supposed to know?”

“Feck, just nevermind, Shayne. Forget I said anything.” He stalked back to his room, anger taking over once more. I followed after him and grabbed his arm.

“You can’t tell me all this now and be mad at me because you never told me how you felt. That’s not fair.”

“Just forget it, Shayne. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, you should have and that’s the problem. You built up this idea of me and when it didn’t magically come to fruition, you took it out on me and Kieran. I’m sorry. Maybe if you’d spoken up or given me some sign that you had feelings for me things would be different…but this is what they are.”

“I was too busy watching ya hook up with all those random arseholes! Ya always were goin’ on about how ya don’t do relationships and I respected that. I thought, maybe ya weren’t ready, so I gave ya yer space. Then my brother strolls into town and ya two are spendin’ every wakin’ moment with each other. When exactly did ya want me ta speak up?”

I loosened my grip on him, taken aback from his furious tone. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“And I’m sorry I said anything.” His eyes burned with anger and hurt.

I tried to say something more, but the bell on the door jingled and a man walked in, nodding at Liam.

“Now if ya’ll leave me alone about this, my appointment’s here.”

“Fine. I’ll see you later. I’m going home.”

“Shayne…”

“No, you’re right. I should leave you alone. Goodbye.” I was out the back door with my purse before he could stop me. He was right though. We needed space, especially after this new development. On top of all this, thoughts of last night still lingered, adding to the inner turmoil swirling around in my head. I sat in my car, breathing deep, trying to calm my anger with Liam and the unsettling feelings that kept arising every time I thought of Kieran. He’d fallen asleep almost immediately last night. His pain meds had kicked in and I’d laid there studying his face, relaxed with sleep. I’d curled into him, tracing the outline of his nose, his lips, and his jaw. I’d breathed in his masculine woodsy scent and traced my fingers through the light sprinkling of chest hair. I’d felt happy and content lying there with him. At one point, he stirred, turned his head to me, and stared at me through long, dark lashes, blue eyes unfocused in a sleep and painkiller induced haze. I’d smiled at him and he’d smiled back. Heavy limbed and drowsy, he’d reached a hand over and stroked my cheek, then pulled me into his arms before his eyes drifted shut once more. My heart had thumped in my chest and I’d realized at that moment that whether I wanted to or not, I was falling for Kieran. Hard.

Startled and horrified by this sudden feeling, I’d left at once. There were so many reasons that feeding any sort of emotion like that was a bad idea. Surely it hadn’t meant anything to Kieran and he certainly didn’t remember it in the state he was in. He knew what things were between us and he was okay with that. But then why, every time I thought about him, did that same pang come back? I wasn’t under any disillusion that we had any sort of future together and I didn’t want that.
Right?

Liam hadn’t come out of the shop after me, but I glanced at the back door warily and finally started my car. I pulled out my phone and dialed Darren.

“What’s up, cutie?”

“Can I come over? I need to talk?”

“Talk?” He teased. I let out a sigh.

“Yes, talk.”

“No can do. I’m out. Everything okay?”

Frustrated even more so, I pounded the steering wheel with my fist. “Fucking Liam!”

He lowered his voice, confused. “Wait…you’re fucking Liam?”

“What? No! I tried to talk to him about things with Kieran and he told me he was in love with me.”

“Oh….
Ohhhh
.”

“Yeah. It was a mess. I just left the shop.” I wanted to tell him about Kieran, about my panicked departure last night, but I couldn’t say it. I wouldn’t. I was just being stupid. I’d been worried when he’d hurt himself. Maybe those were just feelings of relief that he was okay…not anything else.

Darren cleared his throat, pulling my attention back to him.

“Tell you what. Go home, fix yourself some tea or a drink. Something to calm your nerves. Then draw a nice warm bath, listen to some music, and put on some of your favorite lotion. Then, around six, slip on something hot, get yourself all sex-kittened up and meet me at The Castle.”

“I don’t know. Not really in the mood for any of that tonight.”

For once, I really wasn’t. That was even more alarming.

Darren let out a soft laugh. “No? Kieran will be disappointed.”

I swerved and a horn blared behind me as I came back in my lane. “Kieran? Wait, he’s going?”

“Please don’t get in an accident, Shayne. And yes, he’ll be there. We’ve been doing a bit of male bonding today.”

“Oh?” I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

“Mmmhmm. So you’ll be there?”

I couldn’t very well say no. Curiosity alone wouldn’t let me. I’d known they were meeting for lunch, but had they really been spending the day together? And what exactly were they planning, the two of them together? Despite my mixed emotions, I sighed in resignation.

“Yeah. I’ll be there.”

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Double Up

I followed Darren into The Castle and my heart thumped in rhythm to the beat of the industrial music blaring from the speakers. He led me through a large main room where several stations were set up. Couples played under the glow of multi-colored lights. I watched them, entranced, anxious to see Shayne, and unsure of what would happen tonight.

“Up this way. There’s a private room toward the back.” Darren called to me. I followed him up the stairs.

“Are we even allowed to do
that
here?” I asked. I hadn’t noticed anyone else having sex like at his little private soirée.

“Not down there, no. They have some designated areas, but you have to okay it with the Dungeon Master first.”

“Let me guess…”

“It’s okay with me if it’s okay with you.” He grinned.

“And Shayne too, ya mean.”

Darren’s eyebrow lifted in question and he pushed a crimson door open. It was a smaller room with several stations set up like downstairs. A spanking horse, a St. Andrew’s cross for whipping and flogging, and what looked to be an engine lift in the middle of the room.

“What’s that fer?” I asked, eyeing the lift with a suspicious look.

He laughed and tugged on one of the chains. “For later.”

I let out a grunt and turned my attention to the other side of the room. “What’s in there?” I nodded toward an open door to what looked to be a sort of workroom.

“Oh that? That’s where I make leather goods. Floggers, cuffs, other little creations I dream up. This is my office, I guess you could say.”

“Interesting. I didn’t know ya made stuff. Mind if I take a look?”

“Go ahead. Shayne should be here soon.”

My nerves returned with a vengeance and I strode into the room, busying myself with examining the various items hanging on the wall. I still wasn’t sure if I could go through with sharing Shayne with Darren. But he’d said she wanted it. The thought of her between the two of us was both unsettling and arousing at the same time. I wanted to pleasure her, I wanted to fulfill her fantasies, but could I fulfill this one?

I looked down at my clothes. I’d changed from my usual jeans, sneakers, and t-shirt to a pair of slim-fitting black jeans with boots that came up to my calves and finished it off with a fitted grey t-shirt that Shayne had told me showed off my muscles quite nicely. Not my normal style, but I thought maybe she’d like it. Darren was dressed similar, wearing mostly black and serious looking boots, but our differences were glaringly apparent. This was his natural environment and for the most part, I had no idea what I was doing. Still, she let me dominate her. She trusted me. She let me past the wall she kept up around everyone else.

The door opened in the main room, and I peered around the corner. Shayne walked in wearing a low cut black dress and her infamous black boots. I smiled to myself. Her gaze searched the room, but she didn’t glance in my direction. I backed into the room a little, keeping myself hidden. Watching her.

“There you are. Took your sweet time, didn’t you?” Darren beckoned her over to him with the curl of his finger and she obeyed. “Take off that dress. Let me see if you did as I asked.” His gaze shifted to me with a subtle twitch of the eyebrow. Unaware of his amused look, Shayne slid the dress off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Her back was to me and I got an eyeful of her backside in a black g-string as well as the intricate lacing of a matching corset. Shayne started to ask something but Darren put a finger to her lips.

“Why don’t you give me a little turn, let me see the whole package.”

Shayne turned, slowly, giving both Darren and me a full view. Her bare breasts were high, pushed up by the corset. Her nipples were already at attention, whether from the cold or anticipation. They were a lovely shade of pink, like freshly bloomed roses in spring. I wanted to take them in my mouth, tug those little rosebuds between my teeth. I ran my tongue across my bottom lip and clutched the doorframe, my fingers squeezing tight at the thought. I wanted to. But I couldn’t. Not yet.

“Now, come here. I’ve got something for you.” Darren’s voice pulled my mind back to the present. He grasped her arm before she could look in my direction and grabbed a contraption of leather and buckles off of a hook on the wall. “Arms behind your back.” He told her. Shayne put her arms behind her and Darren pushed her against the wall, sliding the leather restraint over her arms. With a deep breath, I stepped out of the workroom, quietly making my way toward them as he secured her arms behind her.

“Darren?” Shayne spoke and he swatted her arse.

“Oh come on, you know better than that. Address me properly.”

“Sir?” She corrected herself.

He caressed the red mark that was starting to form. “Yes, Shayne?”

“I…I thought you said Kieran would be here.” Her disappointment leaked into her voice. The corner of Darren’s mouth quirked up and he glanced back at me, expectantly.

I swallowed hard, then slid my hand over her other arse cheek. I gave it a firm squeeze and let out my breath, dragging my teeth over her bare shoulder.

“I’m here.”

Shayne gasped and turned her head to me. I caught the hint of a smile before her gaze raked over me, taking in my appearance. Her lips parted and I leaned forward, kissing her. As I pulled away, Darren tugged her back from the wall.

“Kieran, want to help me with those straps?” He nodded toward the pieces of leather hanging down from the harness.

“Yeah, I got it.” With a heated look at Shayne, I dropped to my knees in front of her, buckling the straps around her thighs, and giving her pussy a teasing stroke with my tongue. Darren gave me an approving grin when I stood back up.

“Now, like I was telling you, during a scene, you should have a safe word, but you can also have others to break a scene momentarily in order to communicate something.”

“Like, blueberry?”

Shayne’s eyes darted to mine in surprise and I dared her to laugh. She didn’t.

Darren did. “Blueberry works. Now, Shayne, I’m going to start this scene with you, show Kieran a few things, and then he’s going to join in. Sound good?”

She stared at me, her eyes darkened, and she bit her lip. “Yes, sir.”

His lips curled into a satisfied grin. “Good. Kieran, why don’t you pick out a nice toy for Shayne.”

I raised an eyebrow and he nodded to a large metal tool chest a couple feet away. The top drawer was pulled out and various vibrators and dildos were laid out neatly. I glanced back at Shayne then picked an odd shaped bulbous toy with a fishtailed end on it. Her gaze remained intent on me as I walked back over, her eyes wide. I supposed she hadn’t quite expected this. Darren stood behind her, holding her in place and I ran my fingers up her slick opening, lightly circling her clit.

“Spread yer legs.”

Shayne’s eyes glimmered and she spread her legs. I ran the toy against her opening, ensuring she was adequately wet, then pushed the bulbous end inside her, the other end of it pressing snugly against her clit. Her breath caught and I gave it a light upward tug, smiling as her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks.

Darren leaned forward and pressed his lips against her earlobe. “Now, keep that in there and get on your knees, young lady.”

With his help. she knelt on a padded mat. Her brown eyes stared up at me. Darren came around from behind her and grabbed a set of clamps from another drawer. I stepped back and he secured them onto her nipples. He twisted the small nobs on the sides, tightening them, and Shayne pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, emitting a soft “mmph.”

“Open your mouth.” He gave the chain a teasing tug. Shayne opened her mouth and he put the chain between her lips so that the clamps were tugging her nipples up. “Remember, sit up straight and keep your chin high.”

She held her chin up, pain and pleasure mixing in her features. Her chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, making her breasts heave. Darren shoved something into my hand and I looked down to find a red tea light candle in my palm.

“Have you tried wax play yet?”

“No.”

A scheming grin pulled at his lips. “Well, it’s a good way to get your sub’s blood pumping, and Shayne here rather enjoys it. Don’t you, sweetie?”

Shayne grunted and Darren shook his head at her.

“Oh come on, Shayne. Give him a big nod.”

Shayne nodded and the chain pulled taut, tugging her reddened nipples.

“Good girl.” He patted her cheek then turned to me, lighter in hand. “Just light the wick. Since you haven’t done it before, you can test it on your own arm. You don’t want to drip it from too close or you’ll burn her skin. While we sometimes inflict pain, we don’t want to damage our pretty little sub.” He thrust the lighter into my hand and winked at Shayne.